The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-08
The Indiana White Caps.

A Jeffersonville letter to the Indlanapoli:
NetUS says: There has been a great deal OF
newspaper talk about the White Caps
Knights of the Switch ETC., so-called, and
m 0st of the stuff that has been telegraphed
out has been colored in all the vividness OF
the rainbow hues. The correspondents have
taken especial pains to make the parties
visited by Caps or Knights appear as mar.
tyrs in the holy cause of law and order
while quite the contrary is true i'll all cases.
An enterprising reporter has even organ
lied an opposing order of midnight raiders
! to correct the evil of the knights and Caps
1t is hardly necessary to say that the organi-
cation was simply the creation of a fertile
mind
Your correspondent took some pains to
get at the true inwardness of these night
raidings in Crawford, Orange and Harrison
counties, and after a careful consideration
of all the points he comes to the conclusion
that the lawlesSneSS complained of is not
near as bad as the anarchy which would
result if the night-raiders were not in ex
istence.
failed to find a single instance where the
parties whipped or named did not visibly
deserve it. None of the cases could proba-
bly, have been reached by law.
Without going into particulars, which
would make too long a list, the outline of
offenses punished by switching have been
drunkenness, lewdneSS, wife-beating, con
firmed laZineSs, theft, and in one or two in
stances gross northumberland of office.
OF course, the proceedings of the organi-
cations are without warrant of law, but
they are only a terror to those parties who
deserve the punishment.
Crawford, Harrison and Orange counties
are very wild and rugged regions, full of
hiding places and hooks offering retreat for
the lawleSs; railroads are very few. and
county roads are simply awful-in fact, the
section is, i'll its topography, not much bet
Der than the notorious counties of Ken
lucky, yet there lives there a race of very
peaceful, intelligent and law-abiding citi-
Zens.
| Said Crawford county man to me: ''If
| it were not for these much-condemned Or
CARNATIONS our county would be infested
with the worst ragtag and bobtails of Gre
alton. But we run them out, and our old
| county has fewer murders, thefts and out
RACES than Floyd Clark or other counties
| think the Whitecaps would be decided
| advantage to you"
But" arged the reporter, "you people
could punish crimes by law"
1--WE cannot always get the witnesses.
People are afraid to testify before co uts-
| afraid of the revenge of toughs. Beside our
modus operandi is swift and inexpensive
and has hitherto been just in every case"
Are ever any of your night-raiders
brought to justice"
"Well. yes. There was a man and a
woman whipped in Orange county some
wears ago for lewd condition. The woman
recognized one of the party, her own
brother-in-law, a well-to-do farmer Three
of the men were tried, foolishly pleaded
guilty upon their lawyers advice and paid
the fine assessed by the court at Salem
where the case had gone on a change Of
venue Next the woman entered suit for
damages and wrecked her brother-in-law
financially"
The case was true, for the same thing had
been told by the man himself to party
from here while squirrel hunting in that re-
gion.
the best men in the counties, who have the
welfare of their region at heart. Their
movements are secret and swift, and if met
with il is not best TO be too inquisitive, but
they do not modest travellers who undoubt-
eddy meet them.
The organizations have their passwords
and signs, and are exclusive as the Masons
or any other secret order, and work good
deal like them. When they are bound on a
corrective elrand the word is quietly passed
along in a manner which would not be no
ticed by an outsider, and at night the men
gather at an out of the way place and pro-
coed to their destination, They have their
officers, it appears, as secret orders have,
! and obey the local heads implicitly There
is certainly no politics in the thing.
Its origin is somewhat doubtful, but APP
pears to date from the time of the war.
Indeed, some people allege that it antedates
that interesting period and that the Sons of
Liberty at one time captured the organiza-
tions. II could not be ascertained whether
the various organizations of the three coun-
ties have any official connection, but on the
county lines thevdo certainly act in concert.